Leading Dining & Restaurants Brands in Canada: Q1 2025 Insights

Introduction

In the competitive landscape of Canada's dining and restaurant industry, brands like Tim Hortons, McDonald's, and Starbucks have consistently led the charge. Leveraging data from Sensor Tower's comprehensive suite of insights, this analysis delves into the performance trends of these major players from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025. We highlight their digital presence, app engagement, and advertising strategies.

Tim Hortons

Tim Hortons, a staple in Canadian dining, boasts a robust digital ecosystem, including its website, timhortons.com, and the Tim Hortons app.

• Audience Trends: The website maintained a stable monthly audience, with visits hovering around 4M. Notably, March 2025 saw a rise to over 4.2M visits, indicating renewed interest. The monthly true audience across both platforms consistently surpassed 5.5M, peaking in March at over 6M.

• App Engagement: The app experienced growth, with monthly active users increasing from approximately 4.7M in January to over 5.3M in March, highlighting a strong mobile engagement trend.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Monthly advertising spend decreased from $2.4M in October to $1.6M in March, with impressions following a similar downward trajectory. Facebook and Instagram were dominant channels, contributing significantly to impressions.

McDonald's

McDonald's, a global fast-food leader, maintains a significant digital presence through its website, mcdonalds.com, and the McDonald's app.

• Audience Trends: The website's visits showed fluctuations, with a notable dip in February to just over 2M. However, the monthly true audience remained steady around 4.9M, with March seeing a slight increase.

• App Engagement: Monthly active users of the app showed resilience, recovering from a low in January to stabilize at approximately 4.5M in March.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Monthly ad spend remained robust, peaking at over $4.1M in December, with TikTok and Instagram being key channels for reaching their audience.

Starbucks

Starbucks, known for its premium coffee and innovative digital strategy, encompasses its website, starbucks.com, and the Starbucks app.

• Audience Trends: The website experienced a significant spike in December with visits exceeding 3.6M, while the monthly true audience hovered around 2.4M in Q1 2025.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users saw a decline from over 2.5M in December to around 2.1M by March, indicating a shift in user engagement.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Starbucks reduced monthly ad spend from $2.2M in October to $1.4M in March, focusing on Instagram and Facebook for substantial reach.

Conclusion

The data from Sensor Tower underscores the dynamic strategies employed by Tim Hortons, McDonald's, and Starbucks in Canada’s dining and restaurant sector. With Sensor Tower's unparalleled cross-platform insights, brands can adeptly navigate the digital landscape, optimizing both web and app engagements alongside strategic ad placements. For more information on our comprehensive data offerings, explore our Web Insights, App Performance Insights, and Pathmatics products.